Solar Powered Air Conditioning – Turning Heat into Cool

Using the hot sun to cool your home seems like an oxymoron (=a contradiction in itself – ok, I am a teacher’s and a professor’s child – does it show 😉 ?).

The Sun cools your Home

After all, it’s the sun heating your home in the first place and probably forces you to spend thousands of dollars each year on air conditioning.

But there is good news: The cause of the problem may also be the free solution. In recent years this problem has been solved for many homes through the use of solar powered air conditioning systems that allow you to use the free power the sun provides to supply the energy your air conditioners need to cool your home.

These solar powered air conditioning systems are pretty simple and involve simply the installation of a bank of solar panels on your roof. These solar panels are able to convert the sunlight that strikes them into direct current (DC).

This direct current then can be used to power a specialized air conditioning unit directly, or can be converted to the more standard alternating current (AC) that is used in your home for all your normal electrical stuff – like your existing Air Conditioning.

You have the choice as to how you proceed with the installation, but both solutions work equally well for most homes.

There are a number of advantages to these solar powered air conditioning systems over buying the power to cool your home from the utility companies – next saving money, that is.

First, the solar panels that are mounted on your home’s roof will actually shield your roof from the direct sunlight and help avoid that sunlight heating your attic.

In an unshielded home this sunlight would warm the attic to a very high temperature that causes the rooms below it to be hotter than normal. This would actually force your air conditioning to work harder to offset this additional heat.

By shielding your roof with these solar panels, the attic won’t heat up as much and you can save even more money by not needing to run your air conditioning as often. Some of these solar powered air conditioning systems even include attic fans that are powered by these solar panels than can vent any additional hot air out of the attic and will reduce this heat effect even further.

Solar Powered AC Saves you money in Winter

Another benefit that a solar AC system will have is helping to generate additional power for your home in the winter months when your air conditioning is not being used. This excess power can be used by your home directly and help you lower your monthly electrical bills as a result.

In many cases this can reduce your monthly energy expenses by 50% or more during the winter by simply using this extra power to offset the amount you have to buy from your local utility.

Solar Powered AC raises the Value of your Home

Installing a solar AC system on your home will also raise the value of your property. A home with one of these systems installed will be viewed by prospective buyers as energy efficient and will command a higher price than similar homes in your area.

You can also apply for various home energy tax credits and rebates for the solar powered air conditioning system you are installing to help lower the cost of the project.

These rebates and tax incentives are available to homes that take advantage of this type of alternative energy solution and can substantially reduce the cost of the average system.